What metaphors are used in A Walker in the City by Alfred Kazin?

In the second section of the memoir, subtitled "The Kitchen", the author addresses the metaphorical heart of his explorations as he describes life at the physical and emotional heart of his family, the kitchen of the family's home. Here he analyzes and comments on his relationship with his mother. Descriptions of his mother's friends hint at his emerging sexuality. He contemplates on the longings of these women for their home lives left behind in Europe. To him, this suggests that on some level, and in spite of their apparent intention to make the most of their new lives, they also feel as though someplace "beyond" those new lives is where they truly belong.